Sword Art Online: Crossing Swords
by Kinh
Summary: What was once just a game has turned out to be more than that. It was now life and death. We have to survive, to make it to the top and end this death game created by Kayaba Akihiko. Follow Kinh in his adventure as he salvage, slays, and survives through Sword Art Online. (OC acceptance CLOSED. Thank you to all who participated!)
1. Prologue: Link Start!

_Hey guys, Kinh here! This is my first fanfic ever and I decided to do it on Sword Art Online. I absolutely fell in love with the anime when I watched it. It was action packed and there were parts that just make you want to burst into tears. Many of you reading this probably have already seen it, but just in case you haven't, GO WATCH IT! Please review and even criticize so I can improve. Thank you and enjoy! :)_

_This is speaking ""_

_This is thinking ''_

_P.S: I do not own Sword Art Online or any of its characters/others. All rights belong to their rightful owners. I only own my OC(s)._

**Prologue: Link Start!**

**November 6, 2022**

It was just another cold autumn day, a perfect time for watching the broadcast of MMO Stream on my computer. It was a report on the brand new VRMMORPG that was just released. The long awaited **Sword Art Online **was finally here. Only 10,000 copies were made and are now all sold out. The 1,000 beta testers, including myself, had a wonderful experience during the beta. In a few months, I only made it to the 7th out of the 100 floors in that floating castle in the sky, although I was a solo player throughout the entire time. Aincrad was its name. After the beta test had ended, SAO shrouded my thoughts day in and day out. Dreams about that world would happen almost every night. It was sort of like a drug. There was no stopping the thoughts that entered my mind. A lot of tension was building up inside my body. My mind was practically jumping up and down in happiness and joy. The grand opening was about to begin. 

I shut off the broadcast and got out of my seat to stretch and look over at the clock. 12:55. Five minutes until kick off. I walked over to my dresser and took the NerveGear from the top to begin hooking everything up. 

'I can finally go back and see that world again.' 

I put the NerveGear on my head and lay flat on my bed. The time on it read 12:59. There was a little smirk that grew on my face when the time finally hit 13:00. Swiftly closing my eyes, I said the activation code. 

"Link start!"

Bright lights started flashing before my eyes. Indicators came up that and checked off all of my senses. After my calibrations were complete, the language selection screen came up. Of course Japanese was the no brainer decision. Next was the "Login" screen. I entered my account and password and it asked me if I wanted to use my beta test account. "Kinh (M)". A message came up after confirming the account.

**Welcome to Sword Art Online!**

More bright lights flew past my very eyes until my vision came back to a bright and blue sky. I blinked a few times then looked down at my hands, clenching them slowly into fists and smiled while slowly looking back up.

"I'm back."

_And that's the end of the prologue. Sorry that it was a bit short but it was the prologue after all. I promise it won't always be like that. I'll be working on this story a lot so please stick around. Please remember to review! Thanks!_

**Next Time: **_**Truth**_


	2. Chapter 1: Truth

_Hey guys, Kinh here. The first chapter of Crossing Swords is here. Please enjoy and remember to review and even criticize to help me improve. Enjoy!_

_P.S: I do not own Sword Art Online or any of its characters/others. All rights belong to their rightful owners. I only own my OC(s)._

**Chapter 1: Truth**

**Floor 1: Town Of Beginnings**

I hastily ran through the Town Of Beginnings as fast as possible. It didn't matter who was in my way. My heart was pounding faster and faster with every single step. So many players had gathered around the entire town. They all looked like newbies to me, although not many of the beta testers were around this part of town, but it didn't really matter. My main priority was to get to the outside as fast as possible and become stronger than anyone else. All the newbies are still probably learning how to play the game, so now is a great chance to level before all of them figure it out. Players everywhere left and right. There was a long, pink haired man wearing a headband staring at curved swords as I quickly walked passed until something suddenly caught his attention. The pink haired man got up and quickly ran after what seemed to be another player running down the alleyway. Blinking a few times, I decided to ignore it and quickly run to the outskirts of town to begin leveling.

As soon as I got outside, there were boars all over the field. They were all as weak as slimes in other MMOs. They usually die in one hit from a normal attack if you hit them in the right spot.

Slowly, I drew my [**Gladius**] from its sheath on my back and charged up a sword skill anyways. The adrenaline you get from sword skills feel way better than just normal attacks. The sword slowly began glowing blue as I quickly sliced through a nearby boar by activating «**Rage Spike».**

The boar exploded into bits of light shards as a mini menu popped up in front of me.

**Result**

**EXP: 24**

**Col: 30**

**Items: 0**

There was a sigh followed by a small smile as the menu slowly closed in front of me.

"About a few dozen more to go. I should probably be able to get a few levels before dinner time and all the beginners figure out what to do."

I continued through the entire field, taking out boars left and right before walking up a big hill. After reaching the top, there were two other players also training on the other side. One of them was the pink haired man again. A boar quickly charged at him and hit him somewhere you would not want to be hit which made me laugh to myself. It was a good thing you don't really feel anything when you get hit. Then, my eyes traveled over at the other player. He seemed more experienced and knew what he was doing compared to the pink haired guy. I studied his avatar and skills a little more before it finally hit me. It was none other than Kirito. I walked down the hill slowly towards them before they both turned to look at me.

"Yo, Kirito. It's been a while."

They both looked at me for a second before Kirito finally began speaking with a soft tone.

"You're... Kinh. I remember you from the beta."

We shook hands with a smile before I turn to look at the pink haired man to stick my hand out to him as well.

"I'm Kinh. Nice to meet you. I hope Kirito is training you well." Giving a little chuckle before he responds to me.

"I'm Klein! Nice to meet you as well! And, I'm getting the basics down." He says with a very loud and enthusiastic voice as he scratches the back of his head and gives a big smile, showing all his teeth.

I gave a small smile and nod at Klein.

"That's good. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you two later then. Take care, Kirito. Klein."

With that, we began our separate ways, waving my hand at them while climbing over another hill.

* * *

The in-game sun had begun to set as another boar turned into light shards from the slash of my blade. Another mini menu appeared in front of my eyes.

**Congratulation!**

**LV UP! Kinh**

**4 » 5**

"Five levels in two hours, huh? I wonder if all the other players have figured out what to do yet." I talk to myself before shrugging it off and laying down on a hill, looking at the sunset. It was an amazing sight to see as the entire sky had turned orange along with floating islands and waterfalls in the sky. "I wish the real world was this beautiful..." I whisper to myself and sigh before closing my eyes for a little bit, enjoying the slight breeze and environment around me.

Looking at my real life, there isn't really much. I live with my mother. My father and younger sister live somewhere else, closer to my father's job. I'm a first year high school student, just attending school almost every day and it's the same routine every single time. There aren't many friends to go to back in the real world either. I guess that's why I'm a solo player. It's not a big deal though. I've kind of always been this way anyways. If this were the real world though, of course people wouldn't mind staying here forever. Life in Aincrad feels like paradise where just one sword can take you almost anywhere.

After a few minutes of shut eye, the bell tower from the town started ringing loudly across the entire floor. At the sound of it, I quickly jumped to my feet and looked in the direction of the sound. 'Why was the bell ringing?" The clock read 17:30 before a bright light flashed in my eyes. I shut them for a split second as the feeling of a teleportation had taken my before reopening them to see that someone had forced a teleportation. Almost every player in the game had been teleported to the clock tower of the Town of Beginnings. I look around to see what was going on.

"What's that?" Someone said before I looked up at the sky to where he was pointing. There was a red warning notification blinking in the sky. It was there for a little while until the entire sky turned red and filled with red notifications. Something that looked like blood began spilling through the cracks and began forming into something. I clenched my fist and stared with a slightly worried, but excited sensation. The object had finally formed, revealing that it was a Game Master. There was something odd about him though… He had no face. It wasn't long before the GM began speaking.

**"Attention, players. Welcome to my world."**

After hearing these first few words, thoughts came into my mind, 'My world? Is this really be him?'

**"My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the only sole person who can control this world. I'm sure you've already noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu."**

'What?' It really didn't come to my attention to check out the menu because of the busy grinding in the field. I decided to open up my menu to see for myself that it was true, the logout button was missing.

**"But this is not a defect in the game. I repeat… This is not a defect in the game. It is a feature of Sword Art Online."**

Hearing this caught me by surprise. "Not a defect? A feature?"

**"You cannot log out of SAO yourselves. And no one on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave destroying your brain and thus ending your life."**

Many people started becoming confused after hearing this. Two players tried to leave the area but were unsuccessful because of a barrier blocking them from exiting. I began thinking about it hard to myself as well. 'Why would Kayaba Akihiko do this?' My thoughts were cut when he began speaking once again.

**"Unfortunately, several players' friends and families have ignored this warning, and have attempted to remove the NerveGear. As a result, two hundred and thirteen players are gone forever, from both Aincrad and the real world."**

'No way…' My emotions began to turn into worry before clenching my teeth together and balled up my fists. A large amount of news broadcasts appeared all around Kayaba as he began to explain more about it.

**"As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting all of this, including the deaths. Thus, you can assume that the danger of the NerveGear being removed is now minimal. I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game. But I want you to remember this clearly. There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be forever lost. And simultaneously, the NerveGear will destroy your brain."**

Everyone had become quiet and had shocked and terrified expressions after hearing this. I even began shaking a little and clenching my teeth and fists even tighter as visions began appearing inside my mind.

**"There is only one means of escape. To complete the game. You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, Floor 1. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game.**

Many of the players began chattering about this, saying how it was impossible and not even the beta testers came close to making it that far.

**"Finally, I've added a present from me to your item storage. Please see for yourselves."**

I quickly swiped my menu down and opened my item storage, only to see the item that had been placed by the Game Master.

"A mirror?" I selected it and a small mirror instantly formed into my hand. I stared at the reflection of my avatar for a few seconds, blinking a couple of times before another bright light flashed into my face and then, the entire square was bright for just an instant. Once my vision had returned, everyone had a different appearance. I quickly looked back into the mirror to see that my appearance had also changed. There, staring back at me in the mirror was… Me. The me from the real world. My avatar had completely changed from silver, wavy hair and red eyes into black hair with bangs that went down to my eyebrows and blue colored eyes.

**"Right now, you're probably wondering, "Why?" Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do all this? My goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason… To create this world and intervene in it. And now, it is complete. This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch. Good luck, players."**

After his speech, the GM slowly began fading away into smoke, creating a loud electrical and computerized buzzing noise as Kayaba Akihiko slowly returned into the cracks of the red notifications. In an instant after, the entire sky became normal once again. All the players were dead quiet, they were in complete shock and had despair written all over their faces as they stare at the empty space in the sky with their mouths open in shock at what had just occurred. I remain quiet for a little while as well, staring down at the ground, only to begin thinking.

'This isn't just a game anymore… This is real… Everything that this man, Kayaba Akihiko… I know that everything that he had just said, was completely true… If I die here… I'll die in real life…'

My thoughts dissolved after everyone in the area began yelling and crying at the sky, at Kayaba Akihiko who had already disappeared. Nobody could believe any of it. It happened all so suddenly that it was all hard to process at one time. But there was no time to waste. If that was the case, leaving right away was the only option. I have to get stronger, to survive in this virtual world. The instant the barrier was removed, I quickly made a run for it, letting the portal take me to another put of town. I ran towards the outside of the Town of Beginnings, leaving everyone else behind. While running, I opened the map and scanned it thoroughly. My plan was to head to the next town, _Horunka Village_, to the northwest as quickly as possible since the fields around the Starting Town will get picked off pretty fast. Making it there at my level should be a piece of cake. I still have to be cautious though. The monsters become more aggressive at night and will attack without warning.

I stayed on the path, running nonstop, through what had soon turned from grasslands to a forest biome. Falling deeper into the forest, three plant looking monsters that had just spawned suddenly surrounded me. I unsheathed my sword slowly with a blank expression.

'I'm going… I'm going... To WIN!'

Shouting at my mind, giving out a loud battle cry of anger and determination before engaging in a battle for my life against the creations of Akihiko Kayaba.

_And there it is, the first chapter is finally complete. I hope you enjoyed it and please remember to review. Oh! I almost forgot, thank you to those who followed and favorite, and special thanks to Agent 94 and Richard Amadeus Rightmire for your reviews. The OC guideline should be up soon as well so stick around. See you guys soon._

**Next Time: **_**Ara**_


	3. Chapter 2: Ara

_Hey guys, Kinh here. Well, the long awaited second chapter is here. Hope you enjoy and remember to review and criticize to help me improve. Enjoy! Also, here is a list of symbols for your assistance._

_**[…] = Area/Town**_

_**{…} = Monsters**_

**«…» = Sword Skill**

**(…) = Items**

_P.S: I do not own Sword Art Online or any of its characters/others. All rights belong to their rightful owners. I only own my OC(s)._

**Chapter 2: Ara**

**December 3, 2022 Floor 1: Deep Forest**

It's been about a month since this death game began. About 2000 players, including 300 beta testers, have died. I'm currently still running solo around the first floor. Supposedly, a party has found the boss room and is holding a strategy meeting in [**Tolbana] **today. Making the meeting won't be possible for me right now. Word has it that the field boss around here drops a decently rare item for lower levels. There hasn't been any sign of it yet and none of the info brokers have any stats on it either, so it'll be a surprise.

It was getting pretty late though. This area of the forest was quiet and fewer monsters would appear around here. Setting up camp and resting until morning didn't sound like a bad idea. Putting up a tent and starting a fire was easier here than it was in the real world. After eating some leftovers, I crawled into the tent and closed my eyes.

* * *

Around dawn while it was still dark, my hearing picked up something fast that had run passed the tent. Quickly jumping up, I jumped out of the tent to see what it was. Nothing was around, but I activated **«****Tracking****»**to check the surroundings. The skill picked up a player's footprints heading further west.

After packing all the items back into my item storage, I followed the tracks. They traveled deeper and deeper into the forest, as it got darker and darker. Monsters started appearing all around me although taking them all out with one slice of my sword was a piece of cake. No matter how many got in my way, staying on track was the main priority. If the player has gone this far, they must know something about the boss. They were pretty fast as well, these tracks go on for miles.

* * *

A few hours of running around the forest, the tracks came into a mossy cave. Walking in, you can see trees growing through the walls of the cave and little sunlight was coming through the tiny cracks so it was really dark. By activating** «Night Vision»,** I was able to see throughout the entire cave and all the **{Nepents} **that inhabited it. Slicing through them all with ease, I made my way deeper into the cave.

* * *

**Congratulation!**

**LV UP! Kinh**

**9 ****»**** 10**

About another thirty minutes had passed and there was nothing of interest. There were only nonstop armies of **{Nepents}** attacking me. I was starting to lose patience and was thinking to go back, assuming that this player was completely insane, running so far into a cave to find nothing but a dead end. The tracks were still clear though and my mind was telling me to continue following them.

After moving a little more into the cave, my detection skill was able to pick up one player at the end of the cave and another larger unit. I ran towards them and once through the small passage, I was outside in a giant cavern filled with sunlight, grass, and trees. In the middle of it all was a giant monster.

"Is that it? Is that the boss?" Giving a small smirk before unsheathing my sword. It was called **{The Grand Blooming Nepent} **and it had two full health bars. While getting ready to engage in battle, I saw another player fighting off **{Nepent Minions}**. The boss was charging up an attack and had targeted the player.

"Watch out!" The player had just taken out the last minion before the boss fired a giant seed bomb from its mouth. I quickly dashed and tackled the player out of the way but took minor damage from the impact of the explosion. With a closer look at the player… It was a girl.

"W-What are you doing?!" She said with a somewhat irritated voice. She had long black hair and golden eyes.

"No time to chat now, we have to take it out first." She clenched her teeth together but calmed down and nodded in agreement before I got off of her. "Here's the plan, I'll disable its movement by taking out the legs, after that we'll switch out and you aim for its weak spot. If you feel you can't do it then-"

"Don't treat me like a new player." She says with an expressionless face as we both got up, facing the giant boss together. I dashed at the boss first as it targeted me. It quickly smashed its vine-like arm down but misses as I jump to dodge while charging up a **«Sonic Leap» **to cut the arm off, which brought one of its health bars into the yellow zone. Steadily landing back onto the ground, I quickly attack the right legs of the boss, successfully destroying all three of them as it slowly begins to tip over.

"Now! Switch!" I yell before pulling back as the girl quickly charged up her curved sword with **«Reaver» **to cut right through the center of the boss. This attack took out the remaining of the first health bar and left it with only a fourth of the last bar in the red zone.

'Her agility is off the charts. How fast she moves is incredible!' The bosses legs and arm quickly regenerate as it gives out a loud roar.

"One more time! Switch!" She quickly jumps out as I charge towards the legs again, but this time the boss fired a giant seed bomb which had caught me off guard. Charging up my sword to block, the impact was still so powerful that it knocked me back and crashing into the girl. Staggering to get up, my health bar was now in the yellow zone and so was hers. I started towards the boss once more before she grabs my arm.

"Don't… It's not worth it… Let's leave now…" She said with a worried expression on her face.

Giving her a thin smile, responding with, "I'm not going to give up. I won't lose to this world… And I'm not going to let you die here either." Before leaving her grip and dashing towards the boss again, giving a loud battle cry as I charged up another **«Sonic Leap » **and the boss began charging up another seed bomb.

"I'm faster!" Right before the boss was able to fire its attack, I jumped and unleashed my sword skill, slicing the entire boss in half as it gave out one last cry before lighting up and exploding into light shards. I landed back onto the ground, quickly falling to my hands and knees because of the fatigue from the continuous use of sword skills as a giant notification popped up over my head.

**Congratulations!**

Two other mini menus also appeared in front of me reading:

**Congratulations**

**_You got the last attacking bonus!_**

**Bonus Item**

† **_(Earthbound Edge)_**

Slowly standing up, the girl ran over to me and quickly wrapped her arms around my waist, burying her face into my back.

"I'm sorry for worrying you…" I said with a quiet voice before she pulled away quickly with tears running down her cheek and an upset expression.

"You're idiot! Why would you risk your life for someone you don't even know?!" She screamed at me as I tried to respond.

"I won't allow any party member to die as long as I'm alive." After hearing this, she ran into my arms to hug me again as tears continued rolling down her face. I was clueless about what to do with situations like this, but I decided to wrap my arms around her anyways. We stayed like this for a few minutes before pulling away from each other. I wiped away a few tears left from her eyes.

"Thank you." A small smile grew on her face as she said that.

I give a smile back and nod before opening up my item storage. "Let's check out this item." I click on the item the boss dropped and a green and brown sword with root like metal coming out from the hilt materialized into my hand instantly. "Let's see, it's called **_(Earthbound Edge)_**. The stats on it are high above average for a weapon at this level." My excitement soon became disappointment upon seeing what type of weapon this sword was. "It's a katana weapon though… I'm not building katana, so I won't be able to wield this… But!" Quickly turning to the girl. "You're building-"

"Yes, I'm building katana and I just recently got the Katana skill as well." She answered while showing me the skill. "But wouldn't you rather sell it? You could make a lot of-"

I cut her off, "I don't really need the money, and it'd be better to give it to someone who would put it to good use so… Take it." I gave her a assuring smile and handed her the sword.

She hesitated a little before taking it and equipping it.

"It looks good on you." She laughed a little at my comment. "Let's get out of here, it's a long walk back to **[Tolbana]**." She nods at me and we start walking back towards the entrance of the cave and then back into the forest.

* * *

**December 4, 2022 Floor 1: Tolbana**

We arrived in **[Tolbana]** later in the evening. All the lights in city were turned on and shining brightly. We both walked towards an inn before a message notification popped up in front of me. I slowly clicked on it.

**Message From: Kirito**

_Kinh, the first floor has been cleared, but there is something I need to talk to you about. _

_Meet me in Urbus whenever you can._

"Kirito…" I whispered to myself before turning back to the girl with a smile. "I'm sorry, something just came up. It seems the first floor has been cleared though, so I'll be heading to the second right away."

"It's okay." She responded with a big smile, showing her bright teeth. "Thank you for everything today."

"Yeah." I smile and nod at her. "Well, I guess this is goodbye for now." Turning around to walk towards the Teleport Gate, she quickly grabs my arm.

"Wait, I never got your name."

Turning back around to respond and put a hand out, "I'm Kinh."

She gives another smile and shakes my hand gently with her small hand, "My name is Ara. Nice to meet you, Kinh-Kun."

"Ara… You'll become really strong, and when someone you truly trust asks you to join their guild, don't turn it down." I quickly turn around to walk away. "And if you ever need anything, just send me a message, okay?"

"What about you? What will you do?"

I ignored this question and waved my hand back at her as our distance became greater.

.

.

.

"See you soon."

_And that's the end of Chapter 2. Hope you guys enjoyed and please remember to review. I'm still working on the outline, or I should say I haven't started because of laziness. I'm sorry for that! But it'll be up soon for sure! Oh! And here's a new segment. The **REVIEW CORNER**!_

**Richard Amadeus Rightmire:** _Thank you for the cookie! Hope you stick around for the rest of the adventure!_

**storm221: **_Thank you for the positive input. I'll be sure to do the best that I can!_

**Next Time: _Martial Arts and the Beater_**


	4. Chapter 3: Martial Arts and the Beater

_Sorry for the long wait of this chapter. Finals are coming up so I've be a little busy studying for them. After all of them are over, it'll be summer and you know what that means. More time! And special thanks to all of you who participated in the OC submission, I'll be sure to include most if not all the OC's I have received, so be patient and your OC will eventually mold into the story. To be honest, I haven't read the light novels yet and I'm just basing the story off the timeline so I apologize and please excuse any inaccuracy. Anyways, enjoy. :)_

_P.S: I do not own Sword Art Online or any of its characters/others. All rights belong to their rightful owners. I only own my OC(s)._

**Chapter 3: Martial Arts and the Beater**

**December 6, 2022 Floor 2: Urbus**

**Kinh's Current Level: 11**

After leaving Ara back in **[Tolbana]**, I headed straight for **[Urbus]** on the Second Floor and stayed at the inn there to recover from the field boss for a couple of days along with scouting the floor a little. It was unlike Kirito to send people PMs though, so whatever he wanted to talk about seemed pretty important. We scheduled to meet at a restaurant today. Walking through the city was terrible due to all the sand flying around and slapping your face from the mountain winds. It wasn't as beautiful as the first floor, the fact being the theme of this floor is a mountain region. Although, there is a savannah and field region to the west along with a dangerous wasteland.

The **(Cloth Cloak) **a vendor sold me helped a little to cover my body and face, although it didn't give any beneficial stats. The restaurant soon came into sight, and before long, my legs stepped through the front door. Once inside, there was a young man sitting at the corner table dressed in all black. I walked over to his table and sat down across from him, taking off my hood.

"Yo, Ki..ri..to?" The person that sat across from me was not the same person I had met from the beta.

"Yeah, it's me." He gave a small, innocent smile with his child-like face.

"N-no way." There was so much pressure on me not to laugh and seem rude to Kirito, but there was no other option but to laugh and instantly put him in a playful headlock and rub my fist against his head gently. "I didn't know you'd actually be this young in real life!" I continued this for a few seconds before sitting back down on my side of the table.

"You don't have to treat me like such a little kid. I'm not that much younger than you." He sighs with relief after getting out of that headlock and looks at me with a more serious expression.

I gave a few laughs and chuckles before getting serious as well. "About the Floor 1 boss, I heard that the weapons it had weren't the same as the beta."

Kirito nods and looks down with a somewhat sorrowful face. "Yeah, we lost the leading commander in the process. He wanted the bonus drop and I wasn't able to warn him in time." He holds his hands tightly together.

"It's not your fault though, Kirito." He looks up with a surprised look as I smiled reassuringly at him. "Nobody could have guessed the weapons wouldn't be the same, so don't be so hard on yourself."

Kirito gave a small smile but quickly looked back down at his hands. "All this time I only thought about myself and how I was going to survive. I never really gave thought about what happened to everyone else. But after we lost Diabel, I knew what had to be done. To stop the hate between the beta testers and all the other players, I just…"

Slowly putting my hands on top of his and giving him a bright smile. "I know your decisions were the right ones."

He then smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Kinh. You're like a brother to me and sure know how to cheer someone up. But now, we're known as **Beaters**. It's a combination of beta tester and cheater that the players came up with for those who have high knowledge of the game and use it to their advantage."

"**Beater**, huh? Well, since we're both solo then it wouldn't really matter if we're infamous for it. At least we won't get involved with guilds or other players." I give a light chuckle at Kirito as he nods in agreement.

"I guess there is some benefit to it, but there was something else I wanted to ask too."

"What's that?" Asking while tilting my head a little.

"Do you remember the extra skill from the beta test you can learn here on Floor 2?"

I closed my eyes and crossed my arms for a bit to think before giving an answer. "You're talking about **«Martial Arts»**, right?"

"Right. At the top of the mountain, there's an Old Man who teaches it to you if you complete his quest."

"I remember, the quest where you have to destroy the giant rock. There was no way to break it, no matter how hard I tried."

"I know, but Argo is looking to find more information on how to beat it."

"Argo? You mean the info broker." Kirito nods as I slowly stand up to stretch. "Well, we shouldn't keep her waiting. Let's go, Kirito." We gave broad smiles to each other as he nodded and we went out the door and into the sandy plains.

* * *

**December 6, 2022 Floor 2: Sandstorm Mountain**

**Congratulations!**

**LV UP! Kinh**

**11 » 12**

Our journey to the top of the mountain wasn't as easy as expected. There were tons of **{Trembling Ox} **that kept on coming at us. Good thing our teamwork was pretty spot on. Having a good fighter alongside you makes things a bit easier.

Kirito came to give me a high five for the level up before we reached the summit of the mountain whereas the sun was already setting. The only thing we saw was a tiny hut set up in the middle of the room.

"Hey, Argo! I'm back." Kirito said towards the hut and before long, a hooded girl stepped out of the hut followed by an Old Man which seemed to be an NPC.

"What took you so long, Kirito?" She takes off her hood to reveal a short auburn colored haired girl with pink whiskers across her face.

"Well, I had to get him." He points at me.

"Yo, nice to see you again, Argo." She stares at the warm smile and wave given to her by me.

"Umm, who are you again?" She gave me a confused look before I fell to the ground with a bewildered expression. Argo gave a loud and childish laugh at me. "I'm only kidding, Kinh Onii-chan."

"Gee, thanks for the laughs…" I stand back up giving an unamused face before turning to look at the Old Man. "Is this the NPC?"

Argo goes back to her more serious and business-like tone. "Yup, it's one tough quest alright, but with the power you two have, you should be able to beat it."

"Hello." I said walking up to the Old Man before he answered me.

"Do you seek my **«Martial Arts»**?" He said before a mini menu appeared in front of me to confirm or decline the quest. By pressing confirm, the old man spoke out. "Come this way then, young one." He took Kirito, Argo, and myself through another passage leading to the outside where a giant boulder lay. "If you are able to destroy this boulder, I will teach you my skills."

I turn to look at the young swordsman next to me. "Ready, Kirito?" He nods before we both unsheathed our blades and dashed towards the boulder, unleashing relentless attacks on it. After about a minute of barrage attacks, we stepped away from the rock, already panting, and saw that barely any damage was done to the rock.

"Even with the both of us, we still can't do it." Kirito remarked, still panting.

"Don't tell me you're giving up already." Giving a little chuckle before dashing at the boulder to unleash more attacks.

"Not yet!" Kirito smirked and followed after me as we continued our endless attacks on the rock as Argo and the Old Man watched from afar.

We continued this for a couple of hours nonstop. The time slipped our mind and it was probably midnight before we both dropped down from exhaustion. We both lay on the sandy ground, panting loudly and trying to catch our breath.

"Alright you two, that's enough for today." Argo came out from the cave to tell us how late it was and that we should get some rest. "Wow, the boulder still looks exactly the same."

"W-what are you talking about? It looks-" As I turned to glance at the rock to see it remained unaffected by our attacks before looking down. "Not even a scratch…"

"Well, let's try it again tomorrow. We should rest." Still panting, Kirito slowly got up and gave me his hand. He helped me up as the three of us walked back into the cave. We set up our sleeping bags and created a small fire to warm ourselves up since the mountains became really cold at night. I took out rolls and water for the three of us and passed them to Kirito and Argo before we all began eating.

"What do you think we're doing wrong, Kirito?" Chewing my food slowly with my eyes closed and thinking to myself at the same time.

"I'm not sure. Not even our power together could even put a scratch on that boulder." He stares at the fire while drinking some water.

"I have an idea." Argo said aloud as Kirito and myself turned our attention to her. "How about you two combine your power into one point of the boulder?"

We looked at each other and blinked a couple of times before speaking. "That could actually work."

"Yeah, let's try it tomorrow." Kirito responds before finishing off his food and water.

"Alright, goodnight you two." Crawling into my sleeping bag and closing my eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep with the other two doing the same as the fire went out.

* * *

**December 7, 2022**

The sun was shining brightly and it was already blazing hot although it was the middle of winter as Kirito and I stood before the giant boulder once more, our weapons ready in hand.

"Remember, you two are hitting it at the same point." Argo reminded us from behind.

We both nod before Kirito turned to me. "Ready?"

Nodding in response, we began charging up our sword skills at the same time. As soon as our sword skill was ready, we both gave loud battle cries as we dashed towards the boulder. Sand even flew up because of the speed we were going at as we hit the boulder with **«Vorpal Strike»**. Our swords did not go through the boulder at all as we both stepped back. Kirito and I both stared at the rock for a few seconds before cracks slowly began spreading throughout the entire rock. In an instant, the rock exploded into small pebbles. At that moment, we both looked at each with growing smiles on our faces as we gave each other a high five.

"We did it." Smiling at Kirito, as he nods. We both returned to the Old Man to complete the quest.

"Well done, my students. You have found your inner strength and passed the test. You are worthy of **«Martial Arts».**" A small mini menu appeared in front of us stating:

**Congratulations**

_**You have learned «Martial Arts»**_

"Congratulations you two." Argo said with her arms crossed and an impressed smile.

"Thanks, Argo. We couldn't have done it without you." Turning to Kirito with a small smirk. "Hey, let's test it out."

He gave a determined smile before responding. "You're on."

_And that's the end of Chapter 3. Again, sorry for the long wait. Finals are really hitting me hard so there will be some delays these next couple of weeks. But I promise not to disappoint my fellow readers by delaying too long. Now, time for the __**Review Corner**__!_

**SoMuchGerry:** _Thank you, I'm trying to improve each chapter as I go. :)_

**Camryn C:** _I'm glad you caught that. Originally, my OC was a runoff of Kirito, but don't worry, his personality will continue to develop as the story progresses._

**Richard Amadeus Rightmire: **_True. :D_

**Agent 94:** _I finally changed it, haha. And yes, like I said to Camryn, my OC was originally designed to be a runoff of Kirito, but after some thought, he'll develop as the story progresses as well as Ara. Thanks for the constructive advice. :)_

**Jetafray Angel:** _Kinh will develop overtime. And I'll make an exception for you, haha. Yes, you can still send in an OC. :)_

**Next Time: **_**Knights of Blood and the Burning Heart**_


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